Firebox and combustion chamber construction



v 1943- H. A. LACERDA i FIRE-BOX AND COMBUSTION CHAMBER CONSTRUCTION 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 1940 %Will/%W INVENTOR `H`u rwzy' Ji; a cer u ITNESSES M waw ATTORNEYS FIRE-BOX AND COM BUSTION CHAMBER CONSTRUCTION Fed'Nov; 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 oooooo oooo r w m n m a M R M o E. n mm A r; r Y a B a w W O OO O O OWOMO OO O 0 0 O O O O O O u. s s 1 v E u. W %u Nov. 23, 1943. H.` A. LACERDA: 2,335,52

FIRE-BOX AND COMBUSTIQN CHAMBER CONSTRUCTION 3 Sheets-Sheat 3 INVENTOR Harry &ft Lacerda/ Q., g. ATIORNEYS Patented Nov. 23, 1943 FIREBOX AND COMBUSTION CHAMBER CON STRUCTION Harry A. Lacerda, Watervliet, N. Y.

Application November 1, 1940, Serial No. %3,905

3 Claims.

This invention relates to improved fire-box and combustion chamber Construction and particularly to constructons of this character for use in connection with looomotives.

It is a particular object of the invention to provide an efficient economical fire-box and combustion chamber construction in which cinder cutting of the wrapper, crown and tube sheets and clogging of the tubes and tube sheet is reduced to a minimum.

More specifically it is an object of the invention to provide an improved type of brick for use in the brick arch of a fire-box and also an improved brick arch Construction which results in increased efiiciency producing more complete combustion and substantially decreasing cinder cutting of the smoke box liner, crown sheet, tube sheet and tubes.

A further object is the provision of an improved baffle wall for the combustion chamber to prevent or minimize clogging of the tubes and cinder cutting of the tube sheet, wrapper sheet, and tubes.

Another object is the provision of an improved deflector above the fire-box door hole which defiects the coal downwardly into the fire-box thereby protecting the crown sheet from cinder cutting and preventing the flue holes from clogging and at the same time causing increased einciency in combustion.

Another object is the provsion of an improved fire-box and. combustion chamber construction having improved features of Construction such as the brick arch, baffle wall and deflector plate which cooperate to produce a unitary combination resulting in increased eiciency and economy and minimizing cinder cutting and clogging which results from incompletely conbusted particles of fuel.

For a fuller understanding of the invention, references should be had to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through the fire-box and combustion chamber and a portion of the boiler of a locomotive illustrating one embodiment of my inventio-n;

Fig. 2 is a sectional View in the direction of the arrows on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional View in the direction of the arrows on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a top plan View of a portion of the brick arch;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view in the direction of the arrows on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of the bricks employed in the brick arch;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view oi one of the bricks used in the top row or course of the brick arch;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of one of the bricks used in my improved bafile wall;

Fig. 9 is a perspective View of a T-iron that may be used in fastening the bame wall in position;

Fig. 10 is a View in elevation of a modification of the bafie wall in which the baffie wall is extended completely around the wrapper sheet of the combustion chamber;

Fig. 11 is a sectional view on the line I I-il of Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a perspective View of the channel iron that may be used in holding the vertical and in- Verted portions of the baffle wall in position;

Fig. 13 is a view of a modified form of brick arch construction which is used in connection With a straight fiue sheet;

Fig. 14 is an enlarged sectional View of my improved deector plate with the associated portion of the fire-box door hole; and

Fig. 15 is a front eievation of the deflector plate.

My improved fire-box and combustion chamber Construction is particularly suitable for use in connection with locomotives and is so illustrated inthe accompanying drawings. Thus it will be seen that I have shown a portion of a boiler !6 of a conventional locomotive which is provided With a fire-box ll and combustion chamber !8 surrounded by a suitable sheet or wrapper !9. The entrance to the fire-box consists of a. conventional type of fire-box door hole 20 and fuel consisting of a relatively finely divided coal is fed through the door hole by means of a Conventional automatic stoker ZI. Extending across the bottom of the door hole opening and projecting inWardly into the fire-box is a distributor plate 22 which is hollow as shown and is provided with a series of jets 23 through which live steam is forced The live steam is introduced into the inside of the distributor plate by means of a suitable tube 24 connected to the boiler.

The outlet end of the combustion chamber is provided with a flue or tube sheet 25 to which the ends of a series of tubes or fiues 25 are connected. The water in the boiler surrounds the flues or tubes and also the wrapper or sheet of the combustion chamber and fire-box. Extending across the fire-box longitudinally thereof at an angle 'are a series of arch tubes 2? which are of the usual arcuate shape and communicate at both ends with the boiler.

The combustion chamber, fire-box, and boiler heretofore described are of a conventional type employed in locomotives and serve as an illustration of the type of apparatus to which my invention may be applied. It should be understood of course that my invention may ;also be used in connection with different types of firebox, combustion chamber, and boiler construction.

My invention comprises generally an improved deflector plate 28 above the fire-box door hole, an improved brick arch 29 emplying a novel and improved type ofbrick 30 and 30' and also an improved bafile wall 3! formed in the combustion chamber.

The deflector plate 28 may be formed in one or more pieces and is preferably arcuate in form curving downwardly into the fire-box and has a plurality of jets through which live steam is forced. In the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings particularly Figs. 1, 14 and 15 the deflector plate is a unitary casting having a base member 32 with apertures 33 to receive studs 34 for attaching the plate to the wrapper or sheet of the fire-box immediately above the door hole. Supported from the base member 32 is a hollow casting 35 which is arcuate curving downwardly in the manner shown and is preferably provided with external ribs 36. A tube 3'! leading from the boiler communicates with the interior of the casting 35 so as to provide live steam which is emitted in jet form through the orifices 38 at the opposite end of the casting. Refractory material may be applied over the base 322 in the manner ndicated at 39.

The deflector plate serves several different purposes. Thus it directs the particles of coal downwardly so as to prevent them from impinging against the crown sheet and cutting it at the same time causing more complete combustion of the coal. Also it results in reduced smoke and in a brighter fire. Since the deflector plate also serves to prevent the coal from burning on the distributing plate, the life of the distributing plate is materially increased.

My improved brick arch which is shown more clearly in Figs. l, 2 and 4-7 comprises a plurality of bricks 30 and 33' supported on the arch tubes 21. The bricks ar made of suitable refractory material and are transversely :arcuate and of sufficient width to eXtend between the tubes 2'! and be supported thereby as shown in Figs. 2 and 5. The bricks are placed end to end on the tubes 27 with the convex side towards the top and the concave side towards the bottom thereby forming an arch extending completely across the fire-box. Since no tubes are provided at the extreme sides of the fire-box, I provide suitable means in the form of studs 40 for supporting 'the rows of bricks on the two sides of the firebox.

Referring more specifically to the bricks indicated by the numeral 30 it will be 'seen that they are provided with diagonally extending ribs 4! and 42 on the upper and lower surfaces respectively of the bricks and extending between opposite corners. The side edges of the bricks 3!) are cut away and curved in the manner indicated at 43 so as to receive the arch tubes 21. The bricks Si) are so arranged that the ribs 4! and 42 in each longitudinal row are in parallel relationship. In a transverse direction the ribs of adjacent bricks are arrangedin oppositerelationship as shown more clearly in Figs. 2, 4 and 5. i

The bricks 30' are formed with diagonal ribs 42 on their lower concave surfaces. l-Iowever, in-

stead of the diagonal rib 4! on the upper surface, I provide the bricks 30' with transverse ribs 44 which project upwardly at an angle at the forward ends of the bricks. The bricks 30' are used to form the uppermost transversely extending row as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 while the bricks 30 are used to form the remainder of the brick arch with the exception of a row of plain bricks 33" which may be used across the base of the arch in the manner shown.

Due to the fact that the bricks are transversely arcuate they may expand when they are heated without distorting or damaging the arch tubes. The diagonal arrangement of the ribs 4! and 42 also permits the same result. The ribs 4!, 42 and 44 serve as baffles against which cinders and incompletely combusted particles of fuel impinge. When the force of the particles which engage th lower ribs 42 is broken in this manner they are caused by gravity to fall downwardly on to the fire bed where they have an opportunity to be completely burned. Also the impingement causes the particles to break into smaller particles. The ribs 4! on the upper surface serve to trap the particles and to break them into smaller particles. Rib 44 also serves to imprison the cinders and other particles to break them up into small particles and to cause many of them to fall downwardly onto the fire bed. These ribs also serve to induce a better vacuum for combustion.

The bafi'le wall which is indicated by the numeral 3! is shown more clearly in Figs. 1, and 8-11 and is formecl of a series of bricks 45 made of suitable refractory material and having an upper surface which .is convex from front to back and concave from end to end. The entire brick is curved from end to end to conform with the curvature of the sheet or wrapper !9 in the combustion chamber. In the small baffle wall shown in Figs. l, 8 and 9 in which the baflle Wall only extends acrossthe lower portion of the combustion chamber the bricks may be held in position by means of T-irons 46 which are spot-welded to the wrapper or sheet. The bricks are provided with inverted T-shape slots 4'! to accommoclate the T-irons and are attached thereto by means of fire clay.

If desired, the bafile wall 3! may be extended completely around the combustion chamber in the manner indicated in Fig. 10 so that a portion of the wall is in inverted position. When this type of wall is employed I prefer to hold the inverted and vertically disposed bricks in position by means of channel irons 48 which are `spot-welded to the sheet or wrapper and interengaged with complementary slots 49 formed in the bricks. In this form of brick, fire clay may also be used to attach the brick to the angle irons.

Bafile wall 3! is only employed in that type of Construction where the fire-box is provided with a combustion chamber !8. In the form of construction shown in Fig. 13 where the fire-box is provided with a straight tube sheet extending upwardly at the forward end of the arch tubes 2'! as indicatecl at 50, I do not employ a baffle wall 3! 'cut instead I provide the brick arch with a transverse bafile extending across the upper surface thereof a short distance in front of' the tube sheet. This maybe accomplished by substituting for the bricks 3!! in one of the lower transverse rows of bricks the bricks 351' which have ribs 44 extending upwardly from the front thereof In the form illustrated in Fig. 13 the second transversely extending row of bricks is formed of bricks 30' whereby a transverse bame wall is ormed by the ribs 44.

The bame wall 3| in the first form of my invention and the transverse baffie formed by the ribs 44 in the form of my invention shown in Fig. 13 serves to prevent cindersand other particles from impinging against the tube sheets and tubes thereby protecting them from cinder cutting and clogging. Particles engaging the transverse baffle are broken into smaller particles or are imprisoned in front of the bafiie.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that I have provided improved fire-box and combustion chamber Construction consisting of an improved defiector plate, improved arch bricks and an improved bame wall which results in more complete combustion, the elimination of or substantial reduction in cinder cutting and in the prevention of clogging of the tube sheet and tubes.

It should be understood, of course, that many modifications may be made in the illustrated and described embodiments of myinvention. As for instance the deflector plate 28 may be supported by the stoker rather than from the fire-box wrapper door sheet. Also in certain instances, such as an oil burner where no brick arch is employed, the arch bricks may be used as a lining for the fire-box sheet.

I claim:

1. A brick for a brick arch of a fire-box comprising a transversely arcuate body made of refractory material formed with a diagonally extending rib on the concave surface thereof and with a transverse rib extending at an angle forwardly from the brick and above the convex surface thereof.

2. The combination with a fire-box of a brick arch comprising a plurality of parallel arch tubes extending longitudinally of the fire-box at an angle with one end of the tubes being in a lower plane than the opposite ends and a plurality of bricks of sufficient width to extend between the tubes supported thereon in abutting relationship near the lower end thereof so as to form an arch, the bricks beneath the uppermost row each comprising a transversely arcuate body with the convex surface facing upwardly and having diagonal ribs extending between opposite corners on both surfaces thereof and each of the bricks of the uppermost row comprising a transversely arcuate i body with the convex side facing upwardly and having a diagonal rib extending between opposite corners on the lower surface thereof and having a transverse rib formed on the upper surface thereof and projecting orwardly and upwardly at an angle.

3. A fire brick consisting of a body of refractory material having bame ribs on the upper and lower surfaces thereof respectively, the rib on the upper surface extending transversely and projecting at an angle in a forward and upward direction, and the rib on the lower surface extending diagonally.

HARRY A. LACERDA. 

